Black New Year
by KateinVA
Summary: One shot. A New Year's Eve conversation between two of the Black sisters at the grave of the third.


**A/N: I wrote this for a redemption challenge on MNFF. It's a bit rushed, I think. I was tired and up against a deadline for submissions when I finished it. I may go back and revise it later, if I come up with something better. As always, anything recognizable from Harry Potter does not belong to me. Reviews are always appreciated.**

The woman stood beside the grave in silence. The winter wind whipped around her, causing her robes to billow and her blond hair to come loose from its chignon. Tiny snowflakes fell all around her, gathering alongside her dainty feet and sticking to her eyelashes, but she did not move. It was a clear night, the moon shone down on her in her white robes giving her a luminescent glow. A stranger might have mistaken her for an angel. I nearly did but then I was a stranger to her myself after all these years. Time has a way of eroding familiarity, even between sisters.

I watched her for several minutes. Since childhood I had been in awe of her beauty. She was most fortunate of the three of us physically, inheriting our mother's golden tresses and sapphire blue eyes rather than the dark hair and gray eyes typical of the Black family. Not that any of us were unattractive in our youth; in fact we were almost carbon copies of one another outside of our coloring. That was what set her apart. Bellatrix and I were pretty; Narcissa was radiant.

I made my way across the cemetery. The wind carried away the sound of my footsteps and it was not until I reached the stone marker that Narcissa noticed she was no longer alone. She stared at me with accusing eyes, red from the sting of wind and tears. I knew what she was thinking. Bella should have looked much like I did, plump cheeked and generously curved, rather than the gaunt specter she had become. I was a vision of what Bella would have been had it not been for the Dark Lord, the years in Azkaban and now death. How dare I, the blood traitor sister, stand before her in perfect health when Bella could not?

"Hullo Cissy," I said, coming to stand beside her.

"Andromeda," she replied silkily, lowering her gaze to the tombstone once more. "What brings you to this bleak place on such a festive night? Shouldn't you be home ringing in the New Year with _Ted_?" Narcissa had a way of saying my husband's name that made it sound like a venereal disease. It bothered me when I was younger.

"I came to say good-bye to my sister."

The deep blue eyes narrowed but did not waver from the grave marker. "You said your good-byes years ago. Don't pretend to be saddened by Bella's death. That sort of hypocrisy is a bit much, even for you."

My hypocrisy. Our cousin Sirius was a bad egg from an early age. Sorted into Gryffindor at Hogwarts, laughing at the pure-blood supremacy our families preached, Sirius had never followed the expected path of a Black. His choices in life were detested but they were not considered a betrayal because he had never given the family reason to think he would fall in line. My story was somewhat different. I had believed in the superiority of pure magical blood. I was a Slytherin prefect. Then I met Ted Tonks. I fell in love with a Muggle and realized the folly of it all. They never understood my change of heart. It was easier for Narcissa to needle me about my supposed betrayal than to face her own sins, her own hypocrisy.

Inhaling deeply, I lifted my face into the moonlight and let snowflakes dance across my cheeks. "True, I find Bella's life more pitiable than her death. I did love her though, even if I hated what she became. Certainly you, of all people, understand that."

Narcissa's face tensed and her eyes closed tightly. I could barely hear her reply over the rushing air.

"I don't know what I understand anymore."

"Surely you don't think her actions were justified, Cissy?" I demanded, "You can't possibly believe that."

Twin sapphire eyes met mine. Their haunted look pleaded with me to understand.

"Lucius believes in the Dark Lord's cause, Andromeda. He believes Bella was justified in her actions. He'll carry on where she left off. How much of my family must I sacrifice? What cause is worth losing a sister, or a husband or a son?" The words had tumbled out of their own accord. She was embarrassed by her outburst and the exposure of feelings she hadn't wanted to acknowledge and she looked away to regain her composure.

"Narcissa," I said softly, "Bella sealed her own fate by placing the Dark Lord above her family. Lucius, I daresay, will one day come to a similar end if he carries on as she did. You're son's life is worth the loss of the other two. You made the right choice."

She looked at me with tears threatening to pour down her cheeks. "I killed our sister, Andromeda. How can that be right?"

"She threatened your son, Cissy. There was nothing else to be done."

"Forgive me," she cried, reaching towards me.

I wrapped my arms around her as I had many times as a child. "I forgive you, Cissy. I forgive you."


End file.
